The 85,000sq.ft centre, which opened last year, serves the Northern Virginia community. Theatre consultant and lighting designer Robert Davis specified Aramis followspots for the 1,121-seat Merchant Hall, which is designed for symphony orchestra performances, dance, opera and theatre and boasts a 45ft by 100ft stage and a motorised pit set for large orchestras.
"A followspot has to do everything perfectly - It doesn't have to clear just one hurdle, but dozens," says Davis. "The instrument has to have a really good followspot beam, and you need to have good control over it. It has to accelerate and decelerate smoothly and stand rock solid - any jiggle at 100ft will be greatly exaggerated. Remember that the star talent will be standing right in this light.
"In addition, every designer wants something different from the light for a particular show, so the beam has to be flexible enough to accommodate different kinds of performances. Taking all these things into consideration, I recommended the Robert Juliat Aramis followspot because my clients can depend on it to perform in critical situations.
"Also, because Robert Juliat followspots are known and used throughout the highest levels of the entertainment industry any specifier or theater owner can be confident that Robert Juliat followspots will find instant acceptance from touring companies."
(Jim Evans)
